This invention relates to a device for the relative displaced stacking of sheets and bundles of sheets. A relative displaced stacking of sheets is desirable for collating and, for example, for photocopying machines in order to clearly separate various copying assignments or sequences.
Prior art references which were considered are DE-OS 24 44 206, US-PS 4,236,856 and DE-GM 69 43 419. These prior art references, which do not anticipate the features of the present invention, are only of interest because they also describe devices which serve to solve comparable tasks.
There are several problems connected with previous distributing and stacking devices. One problem, for example, regarding the first of the above-mentioned prior art references is that the described mechanism is hardly suited to stack single sheets in a definite relatively displaced position, since the sheets bumping against the pin projecting from a slide tend to bounce and turn in an uncontrollable manner or, in the case of thin sheets, could roll up and flutter away on the long way to the collecting bin. Another disadvantage is the size of the machine necessitated by the space needed for the chute.
The devices described in the other two above-mentioned prior art references require a relatively large construction and expense due to the motor and/or cam drive They are less suitable for the displacement of singly ejected sheets, since in the one case the huge reciprocating jogger and, in the other case, the relatively heavy pair of rollers would have to be moved with each single sheet to be displaced, which requires comparatively large amounts of power and energy.